Alexander Montgomerie (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: Alasdair Mac Gumaraid) (c. 1550?–1598) was a Scottish Jacobean courtier and poet, or

makar A makar () is a term from Scottish literature for a poet or bard, often thought of as a royal court poet. Since the 19th century, the term ''The Makars'' has been specifically used to refer to a number of poets of fifteenth and sixteenth ce ...

, born in

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of ...

. He was a

speaker and a Scots speaker from Ayrshire, an area which was still part of the Scottish

Gàidhealtachd The (; English: ''Gaeldom'') usually refers to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and especially the Scottish Gaelic-speaking culture of the area. The similar Irish language word refers, however, solely to Irish-speaking areas. The term ...

in his day. He was one of the principal members of the

Castalian Band The Castalian Band is a modern name given to a grouping of Scottish Jacobean poets, or makars, which is said to have flourished between the 1580s and early 1590s in the court of James VI and consciously modelled on the French example of the P ...

, a circle of poets in the court of

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

in the 1580s which included the king himself. Montgomerie was for a time in favour as one of the king's "favourites". He was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in a largely

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

court and his involvement in political controversy led to his expulsion as an outlaw in the mid-1590s. Montgomerie's poetry, much of which examines themes of

love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

, includes autobiographical sonnets and foreshadows the later

metaphysical poets The term Metaphysical poets was coined by the critic Samuel Johnson to describe a loose group of 17th-century English poets whose work was characterised by the inventive use of conceits, and by a greater emphasis on the spoken rather than lyrica ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. He is sometimes, by tradition, given the epithet "Captain".

Early life

Montgomerie was a younger son of the Ayrshire

laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

Hugh Montgomerie of

Hessilhead Hessilhead is in Beith, North Ayrshire, Scotland. Hessilhead used to be called Hazlehead or Hasslehead. The lands were part of the Lordship of Giffen, and the Barony of Hessilhead, within the Baillerie of Cunninghame and the Parish of Beith. ...

(d. 1558) and so was related to the Earl of Eglinton, and a distant relation of

. Nothing is known for certain about his life before about 1580, but contemporary or near-contemporary accounts suggest that he was brought up as a member of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

, spent some time in

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

before leaving for the Continent, and was converted to Catholicism in Spain. He probably saw active service as a soldier for the Scottish forces in The Netherlands in the later 1570s, although there is no certain documentary evidence of this. Montgomerie's arrival in Edinburgh may have been linked in some way to that of the king's Catholic, French-born kinsman Esmé Stewart, whose ascendancy at court coincides with the period of the poet's greatest prominence (1580–86).

Works

It is likely that his earliest surviving poems are ''The Navigation'' and the related ''Cartel of the Thre Ventrous Knichts'', which may well have been written for performance at court at Epiphany 1580. The ''Navigatioun'' involves the torchlit entrance at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh ...

of a narrator and his companions, a "Turk, the More, and the Egyptien". The court musicians were bought "mask claithis" comprising red and yellow taffeta with swords and daggers. Montgomerie's prologue alludes to the

Magi Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin '' magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius t ...

and Epiphany to flatter James VI as the Northern Star. James was also characterised as

Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...

. The masque was followed by dancing. Montgomerie came to prominence as "laureled" leader of the Castalian Band, a circle of court poets headed by the King after being declared victor over a rival poet,

Patrick Hume of Polwarth Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth and Redbraes (c.1550– June 1609) was a Scottish courtier and makar (court poet). Family background He was the eldest son of Sir Patrick Hume of Polwarth & Redbrayes (d. May 1599) and his spouse Agnes, daughter of ...

, in a comically scurrilous

flyting Flyting or fliting is a contest consisting of the exchange of insults between two parties, often conducted in verse. Etymology The word ''flyting'' comes from the Old English verb meaning 'to quarrel', made into a noun with the suffix -''ing''. ...

, or poetic duel. The King, who was himself a practising member of the group, referred to Montgomerie as its 'maister poete'. A number of Montgomerie's poems can be assigned to the first half of the 1580s, including sonnets, court songs, and the first, unfinished version of his longest work, the allegorical ''Cherrie and the Slae''. Like some other pieces, it may have been written (at least in part) by autumn 1584, for the 19-year-old king included a passage from it in his literary manifesto '' Some Reulis and Cautelis to be observit and eschewit in Scottis poesie'', published around September of that year.

Courtier

As early as 27 July 1583 Montgomerie was granted a pension by the king, drawn from the revenues of

Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Ghlaschu) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland and the oldest building in Glasgow. The cathedral was the seat of the Archbisho ...

. His career had evidently survived the temporary imprisonment of James by a militant Protestant faction led by the Earl of Gowrie, and the exile and death of Esmé Stewart, whom James had made Duke of Lennox. But there seems to have been a fundamental change in the culture of the court towards the end of 1585, when the king took personal control of the government, and in the summer of 1586 Montgomerie joined an enlarged Scottish contingent fighting for the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiograph ...

against the Spanish. He stayed there for more than two years, serving at Zutphen at the same time as the unfortunate Sir Philip Sidney, and eventually experiencing severe financial difficulties as a result of non-payment by the Dutch authorities. He eventually struck a deal with the States of Holland in February 1588, and was back in Scotland by the end of the year. Life at court was now very different from what it had been before Montgomerie's departure, not least because of (justified) allegations of intrigue between leading Catholic aristocrats and the Spanish. On a more personal level, the poet's pension had been claimed by someone else during his absence, and a long legal struggle ended in defeat for Montgomerie in July 1593. This battle produced some of his most remarkable poetry, increasingly embittered sonnets encouraging, cajoling, and eventually attacking the judges and lawyers involved, and even the king himself. At the same time, he continued to write formal poems about life at court, while some undated songs and other verses may well also come from this period.

Expulsion and death

Mongomerie largely disappears from view after the collapse of his legal case, until he became involved, in late 1596 or early 1597, in a Catholic plot to seize the rocky outcrop of

Ailsa Craig Ailsa Craig (; sco, Ailsae Craig; gd, Creag Ealasaid) is an island of in the outer Firth of Clyde, west of mainland Scotland, upon which microgranite has long been quarried to make curling stones. The now-uninhabited island comprises the ...

, in the lower

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

, as support for a Spanish intervention in the

Earl of Tyrone The Earl of Tyrone is a title created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. It was first created as part of the Tudor attempt to establish a uniform social structure in Ireland by converting the Gaelic kings and chiefs into hereditary nobles of t ...

's rebellion in Ireland. Led by Montgomerie's friend and fellow-poet Hugh Barclay of Ladyland, this enterprise soon collapsed, Barclay being killed in the process, and on 14 July 1597 Montgomerie was declared an outlaw. He may have planned to leave the country, perhaps to go to the Scottish Benedictine monastery in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

, but he was still in Scotland at the time of his death in August 1598. His death proved as controversial as much of his life, for the authorities of the Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh refused to allow him to be buried in the churchyard on the grounds of his Catholicism, only an intervention by the king himself forcing them to change their minds. Montgomerie's exact place of burial is unknown, but it must have been in the church or grounds of

Holyrood Abbey Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Ref ...

, which was then used by the Canongate congregation.

Literary assessment

Montgomerie's poetic output of over 100 pieces is mostly known from just one witness, the Ker manuscript, presented to

Edinburgh University Library Edinburgh University Library is the main library of the University of Edinburgh and one of the most important libraries of Scotland. The University Library was moved in 1827 to William Playfair's Upper Library in the Old College building. The ...

by the poet

William Drummond of Hawthornden William Drummond (13 December 15854 December 1649), called "of Hawthornden", was a Scottish poet. Life Drummond was born at Hawthornden Castle, Midlothian, to John Drummond, the first laird of Hawthornden, and Susannah Fowler, sister of the ...

. It is possible that this was assembled from Montgomerie's papers soon after his death; it must, in any case, have been written soon afterwards. The range of his work is extensive, from elegant court songs including ''Lyk as the dum Solsequium'' and ''Melancholie, grit deput of Dispair'' to the bitter, sometimes contorted word-play of the sonnets associated with the dispute over his pension, from witty pieces addressed to the king to the profound religious sensibility of ''A godly prayer'' and the extraordinary ''Come, my childrene dere''. Montgomerie is one of the finest of

Middle Scots Middle Scots was the Anglic language of Lowland Scotland in the period from 1450 to 1700. By the end of the 15th century, its phonology, orthography, accidence, syntax and vocabulary had diverged markedly from Early Scots, which was virtually ...

poets, and perhaps the greatest Scottish exponent of the

sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's inventio ...

form (although the twentieth-century poets

Robert Garioch Robert Garioch Sutherland (9 May 1909 – 26 April 1981) was a Scottish poet and translator. His poetry was written almost exclusively in the Scots language, he was a key member in the literary revival of the language in the mid-20th century. ...

and Edwin Morgan were also fine sonnetteers). ''The Cherrie and the Slae'', which he probably revised and completed shortly before his death, is an ambitious religious

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

, employing a demanding, lyrical stanza form which suggests that it was intended for singing, despite its considerable length. His poetry reaches back to the earlier

s, Henryson,

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ...

and Doouglas, but he also translates from

Clément Marot Clément Marot (23 November 1496 – 12 September 1544) was a French Renaissance poet. Biography Youth Marot was born at Cahors, the capital of the province of Quercy, some time during the winter of 1496–1497. His father, Jean Marot (c.& ...

and from

Ronsard Pierre de Ronsard (; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet or, as his own generation in France called him, a "prince of poets". Early life Pierre de Ronsard was born at the Manoir de la Possonnière, in the village of ...

, and some of his work invites comparison with

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

writers such as Marino, Góngora, Donne and Herbert.

Bibliography

*Alexander Montgomerie, ''Poems'', ed. David Parkinson (Edinburgh: Scottish Text Society, 2000) *Alexander Montgomerie. ''A selection from his songs and poems.'' Ed. & Introduced by Helena M. Shire. Pub. Oliver & Boyd for The Saltire Society. (1960).

Selected early imprints

The text of the frontispieces of three early imprints of works by Montgomerie run as follows:Source: ''The poems of Alexander Montgomerie'' edited by James Cranstoun, Scottish Text Society, Edinburgh, 1887. *The Cherrie and the Slae. Composed into Scottis Meeter, be Alexander Mongomerie. Prented according to a Copie corrected be the Author himselfe.'' Edinburgh. Prented be Robert Waldegrave, prenter to the Kings Majestie. Anno 1597. Cum Privilegio Regio''. *The Mindes Melodie. Contayning certayne Psalmes of the Kinglie Propheete David, applyed to a new pleasant tune, verie comfortable to everie one that is rightlie acquainted therewith. ''Edinburgh. Printed be Robert Charteris, printer to the King's most Excellent Maiestie. 1605. Cum Priuilegio Regali''. *The Flyting betwixt Montgomery and Polwart. ''Edinburgh. Printed by the Heires of

Andro Hart Andro Hart (died December 1621), or Andrew Hart, was a Scottish printer, publisher, and bookseller in Edinburgh. Biography Hart occupied a shop on the north side of the High Street, opposite the mercat cross at the head of Craig's Close.Grant's O ...

, 1629''.

Discography

*''Thus spak Apollo myne: The songs of Alexander Montgomerie''. Paul Rendall (tenor) and Rob MacKillop (lute). Gaudeamus CD GAU 249

References

Translations

* Александр Монтгомери. ''Вишня и Тёрн. Сонеты''. Перевод Сергея Александровского. Составитель и научный редактор Е. Витковский. – М.: Водолей Publishers, 2007 (Alexander Montgomerie. ''The Cherrie and the Slae. Sonnets''. Translation by

Sergei Alexandrovsky Sergei A. Alexandrovsky (''Сергей Анатольевич Александро́вский''; born 21 November 1956, Kharkiv) is a Ukrainian poet and translator who writes in Russian language. Background From 1977 to 1982, Alexandrovsky stu ...

. Foreword, ed. and annotations by Eugen V. Witkowsky. М., 2007)

External links

Sonnets of Alexander Montgomerie
(original texts and Russian translations by

). {{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomerie, Alexander 1550s births 1598 deaths 16th-century Scottish writers 16th-century male writers 16th-century Scottish poets People from Ayrshire Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism Scottish soldiers Scots Makars Castalian Band Burials at Holyrood Abbey Burials at the Canongate Kirkyard Scottish Renaissance writers Middle Scots poets Scottish courtiers